There are several problems with the O Clery genealogy of Clann Lochlan

Problems with the O Clery Genealogies

There are several problems with the O Clery genealogy of Clann Lochlan.

308. Brian og m. Donnchada buide m. Neill m. Diarmada galloglaigh m. Aeda mic an Eoghanaigh (i. an MagLachlainn do thiut i Cath Caimirge); an t-Eoghanach so, et an t-epscop Mhaglachlainn, et an t-Oifistel; tri derbhraithre iad-sidhe. Eogan, Dubaltach, Domhnall, Donnchad buidhi, ocus Toirrdelbach: clann Briain oicc indsin.

The above paragraph states that the Eoghanaigh (identifed as Domhnal MacLochlainn, slain in 1241 at the Battle of Caim Eirge), the Bishop MacLochlainn and the "Official" were brothers.

There are three groups of MacLochlainns described in the body of the pedigrees.

1. Descendants of Aeda (son of Domhnall MacLochlainn)

2. Descendants of Aibhne (also called Foibhne).

3. Descendants of the "Official"

In the pedigrees, Aibhne is said to be a son of Neill; also made a son of the same Neill is the 'Official."

A literal reading of the genealogies results in the following:

These pedigrees, when drawn out literally, do not match up well at all, especially if we attempt to identify the men in the pedigrees based on historical sources.

Aodh carrach (in the line of Aibhne) is readily identifiable. He is named as the McLaughlin chief of sept in 1601 in the State Papers, holding a small castle called Caire MacEwlyn (Redcastle). His brother was Owen Gorme, also named in the State Papers of 1601 with the notation that he was taking the Brian oge as chief of sept, who had fled with the "false" O Doherty. This same Hugh carrach appears in 1602 as a juror in an inquisition taken at Derry and heads the list of McLaughlins named in a pardon list of the same year. Owen gorme is later listed as holding lease under Chichester in 1622 in the townland of Massaglen.

In this line, at least, we are on firm historical ground. The pedigrees were updated until the late 1500s or early 1600s. All of the names in the three different branches of McLaughlins therefore should terminate at about the same date. But this is clearly not the case as can be seen from the chart above. That something is clearly wrong with the pedigrees as written can be most clearly seen in the line of Aeda, son of Domhnall of Caim Eirge, which terminates at least 5 generations too soon. Little can be definitively said about the identify of the men in the line of the "Official."

The most severe problem of the genealogies is the identity of Brian oge McLaughlin. Like Hugh carrach and his brother Owen gorme, Brian oge is also named in the 1601 State Papers as holding Garnagall castle (Whitecastle). He is also named the chief of sept in 1601. We know quite a bit about Brian oge and his later descendants thanks to Amy Young's Inishowen (a verbatim copy of the earlier work by Magtochair). His son, Donnell McBryan Oge McLaughlin, held one of the Chichester leases in 1622 (half the qr. of Clare in Moville parish).

The genealogies in O Clery invariably begin with the line of the current chief of sept, which in the case of Clann Lochlan, should be Brian oge McLaughlin, whose line is traced in the first paragraph. The State Papers give a confusing picture of the McLaughlin chief of sept in 1601/02. In one document, Hugh carrach is named chief of sept. In another in the same year Brian oge is the chief of sept, temporarily replaced by Owen gorme, brother of Hugh carrach. So the genealogies should either begin with Brian oge or Hugh carrach (or perhaps even Owen gorme). They do however begin with Brian oge so the conclusion must be that this is the historical Brian oge, alive in 1601/02, then the current chief of sept.

But the accompanying pedigree is clearly impossible for Brian oge. It is much too short in comparison to the better documented pedigree of Hugh carrach and Owen gorme in the line of Aibhne.

On the other hand, there is little reason to doubt the historical accuracy of the line of Aibhne. The generations appear valid reflecting the standard 30-40 year per generation average common in Irish pedigrees.

So we have a major problem in the Clan Lochlan genealogies as written in the O Clery manuscript. Something is seriously wrong with the pedigrees. Another problem is obvious in the opening paragraph which describes Domhnall of Caim Eirge, the Bishop McLaughlin, and the Official as brothers.

The Bishop referred to is no doubt Geoffrey Mclaughlin, the Bishop of Derry, 1297 to 1315 AD. The Official can only be the "Official} of the pedigrees, said to be a son of Neill and a brother of Aibhne, who must have lived ca. 1480 or a little before. There is simply no other an t-Oifistel or 'Official" named in the O Clery pedigrees that this man can be identified with. To imagine this is some other "Official" of whom we know nothing and about whom history is silent is foolishness in the extreme. It is perfectly obvious that these three men cannot be brothers from the dates alone. So this statement in O Clery must be corrupt.

We also have the problem of exactly what the term "Eoghanaigh" means in relation to the Clann Lochlan pedigrees. The author of the pedigrees describes the "Eoghanaigh" as Domhnall MacLochlain, who fell at Caim Eirge in 1241. He is interpreting "Eoghanaigh" to signify the leader of the Clan Eoghain, which indeed Domhnall of Caim Eirge was at the time of his death. But we also find the same term (Eoghanaigh) used in historical manuscripts, especially genealogies, in quite a different sense, to mean "fostered in Tryone," no doubt under an O'Neill chieftain.

Is there any solution to these obvious and serious problems with the Clann Lochlan genealogies in O Clery? Sir William Betham thought there were. Betham was the head of the genealogical department of Dublin in the early 1800s. He made a transcript of the earlier O Farrell "Linea Antiqua" manuscript (ca. 1709), to which he appended excerpts from the O Clery manuscript, probably translated by John O'Donovan. Included among these excerpts were the Clann Lochlan genealogies.

On page 374, Betham noted next to the O Clery paragraph citing the Eoghanaigh as the MacLaughlin that fell at Caim Eirge that "this is wrong. Donald was not the one who fell at Caim Eirge."

In the genealogy charts he drew Betham made Aibhne, the "Eoghanaigh" and the "Official" as brothers, all sons of Neill (as in the case of Aibhne and the "Official" in the charts above). He also gave the "Official" the first name of Owen, and stated he was a brother of the Bishop of Derry, presumably Geofrey McLaughlin, Bishop of Derry 1297-1315. This would seem to be an error on Betham's part, since both Aibhne and the "Official" lived much later than the Bishop Geoffrey. And his source for giving the name Owen to the "Official" is unknown.
Betham seems to have arrived at his conclusions by deducing that the Eoghanaigh was not Domhnall MacLochlainn of Caim Eirge, but a later descendant of Domhnall's; that the author of the O Clery genealogies was wrong in equating the "Eoghanaigh" with this Domhnall. And he may well be right, since the term "Eoghanaigh" can mean "fosterage in Tryone" as well as the more obvious but possibly misleading "leader of the Cenel Eoghain" connotation. He may also have deduced that the three brothers description in O Clery should have referred to the brothers Aibhne and the Official (who are named as brothers in the text) plus the Eoghanaigh as a third brother.

Betham did not spell out what his exact reasoning was in his "corrections" to the O Clery Clann Lochlan genealogies, so we may never know exactly why he drew the charts as he did. But if we follow his lead and draw the charts out based on his corrections, the major problems listed above in the genealogies disappear completely.

When drawn out following Betham's lead, Brian oge now appears in the right generation to be chief of sept in 1601. More than anything else this is what convinced me that this interpretation of the O Clery genealogies is correct. I believe the Brian oge in the first paragraph of O Clery in descent from the Eoghanaigh is the historical Brian oge of 1601 at Garnagall castle, probably the last named McLaughlin chief of sept. The identification of the Eoghanaigh with Domnall of Caim Eirge is therefore a mistake by the author or editor of the pedigrees.

Others disagree with this interpretation but have nothing of substance to replace it with. Some point to the Brian mac Torlogh caech in the line of Aibhne as the historical Brian oge; but this I disagree with, for the simple reason that it violates the O Clery pattern of listing the genealogy of the most important line of the family first in his texts (ie, the current chief of sept). My argument therefore rests largely on the contention that the Brian oge listed prominently and in the first paragraph of O Clery is the historical Brian oge of 1601 at Garnagall Castle. And this Brian oge is a descendant of the man called the "Eoghanaigh," who is not to be equated with Domhnall of Caim Eirge because of the resulting absurd discrepancies in pedigree length.

This interpretation will also modify previous descriptions of the various branches of Clan Lochlainn, in that it appears that there are now three different branches. The Line of the Official is no doubt the branch strongly associated with the herenagh lands of the city of Derry; The other two branches held lands in Moville parish on the Foyle shore. One of these (a fairly small grouping) were descended from the Eoghanaigh and held Whitecastle or Garnagall castle. The other were descended from Aibhne and held Redcastle or Caire MacEwlyn. The McLaughlin herenaghs of Greallagh in Clonca parish were an unknown branch descended from one of these three larger groupings.

For an opposing viewpoint and a few insulting remarks see The MacLochlainns of Inishown

Addenda - Examples of Eoghanaigh in Irish Sources

Two O Donnells were nicknamed Eoghanaigh or Eoghanach

O Clery Book of Genealogies (O Donnell)

Para. 60. Magnus eoganach

Para. 166. Oedh eoganach

1363.2 Four Masters

Magnus Eoganach O Domnaill died this year.

Betham's translation of the O Clery genealogies (probably from O'Donovan) gives the following: "Manus the Eoganach (from being fostered in Tir Eogan or Tyrone)"

One Maguire is nicknamed Eoghanaigh.

1601. Maghnu Eoghanach

An Leabhar Donn

A Mag Tiernan was also nicknamed Eoghanaigh

264. Dondchad riabach & Cormac Eoganach & Diarmaid clann Duarccain oic
mc. Duarcain moir mc. Imair m. Gillacrist.

An entry of Eoghanach in the Four Masters is also translated by O'Donovan as "The Tryonian."

1201 AD. Four Masters

Tiernan, the son of Donnell, who was the son of Cathal O'Rourke, was slain by Mag-Fiachrach and the Clann-Cahill; but Mag-Fiachrach, surnamed Eoganach i.e. the Tyronian was killed

Onomasticon Gaedelicon

eoganach; a Tirone man, Au. iii. 614, Fm. ii. 790; al. Cenél Eoghain, Fia.
30, Lc. ii. 98, 254; dp. Eoganchaib, Ll. 47 b, Lc. ii. 80.

According to Hogan (Onomasticon) Eoghanach meant a Tirone man; or was used as an alias for the Cenel Eoghan itself (Tyrone = Tir Eoghain).

Line of Aeda	Line of Aibhne	Line of the "Official"

Domhnall of Caim Eirge	Domhnall of Caim Eirge
Aeda	Murchadh
Dermot galloglass	Eoghan Mor
Neill	Neill
Donogh buidhe	Owen
Brian oge	Neill
	Aibhne---------------------	The "Official"
	Aedh	Felim
	Dermot	Con muighe
	Eogain	Felim (the herenagh)
	Aodh carrach	Risdeird
	(alive 1601)	Felim
		Ruaidri
		Conor & Richard

Line of the Eoghanaigh	Line of Aibhne	Line of the "Official"

	Domhnall of Caim Eirge
	Murchadh
	Eoghan Mor
	Neill
	Owen
	Neill
The Eoghanaigh------------	Aibhne---------------------	The "Official"
Aeda	Aedh	Felim
Dermot galloglass	Dermot	Con muighe
Neill	Eogain	Felim (the herenagh)
Donogh buidhe	Aodh carrach	Risdeird
Brian oge	(alive 1601)	Felim
(alive 1601)		Ruaidri
		Conor & Richard